Almost thirty years after “Face/Off,” John Woo and Nicolas Cage are set to reunite on the crime biopic “Gambino,” which tackles infamous NYC mob boss Carlo Gambino (via Deadline)
Now we’re hearing (via Screen) that the film has set up a summer shoot, with a $40M budget, starting in Atlanta, and then hopping to New Jersey, New York, and finally Sicily. Nick Vallelonga — who won an Oscar for “Green Book” — co-wrote the script with George Gallo (“Bad Boys”).
“Gambino” follows Cage as Carlo Gambino, “a butcher’s son from Sicily who rules New York’s underworld with quiet authority. But when his death sends shockwaves through the city, Pulitzer-winning journalist Jimmy Breslin follows the trail he left behind to uncover the man beneath the legend” in flashbacks.
Ironically, Cage’s “Face/Off” co-star John Travolta previously portrayed another mob boss, John Gotti, in a widely panned 2018 biopic. If Woo’s Gambino proves equally disastrous, we might be looking at the birth of a cultish double feature perfect for midnight screenings.
Woo, one of the best and most successful action directors of the ‘80s and ‘90s, made a name for himself with Hong Kong classics such as “The Killer,” “Hard Boiled,” and “A Better Tomorrow.” Hollywood then came calling in the early ‘90s, with very mixed results: his best was 1997’s “Face/Off,” but he bombed hard with “Mission: Impossible II,” “Windtalkers,” and “Paycheck.”
Woo has mostly been dabbling in Asian cinema over the last twenty years, releasing only a handful of films during that time, including 2008’s “Red Cliff.” He most recently remade “The Killer” for Peacock, starring Omar Sy, Sam Worthington, and Nathalie Emmanuel.
Meanwhile, Cage keeps racking up acting credits. In 2024, he appeared in Lorcan Finnegan’s “The Surfer,” Osgood Perkins’ “Longlegs,” and Benjamin Brewer’s “Arcadian.” Cage had a busy 2025, with two B-movies (“The Gunslingers” and “The Carpenter’s Son”), and this year will see the release of David O. Russell’s “Madden,” Sony’s “Spider-Noir” series, and the David Mamet-penned “The Prince,” which is — loosely, they claim —inspired by the life and times of Hunter Biden.